Java Strings
Java Strings
Strings are used for storing text.
A String variable contains a collection of characters surrounded by double
quotes (""):
ExampleGet your own Java Server
Create a variable of type String and assign it a value:
String greeting = "Hello";
String Length
A String in Java is actually an object, which means it contains methods that
can perform certain operations on strings.
For example, you can find the length of a string with the length() method:
Example
String txt = "ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ";
[Link]("The length of the txt string is: " +
[Link]());
More String Methods
There are many string methods available in Java.
For example:
The toUpperCase() method converts a string to upper case letters.
The toLowerCase() method converts a string to lower case letters.
Example
String txt = "Hello World";
[Link]([Link]()); // Outputs "HELLO
WORLD"
[Link]([Link]()); // Outputs "hello
world"
Finding a Character in a String
The indexOf() method returns the index (the position) of the first occurrence
of a specified text in a string (including whitespace):
Example
String txt = "Please locate where 'locate' occurs!";
[Link]([Link]("locate")); // Outputs 7
Java counts positions from zero.
0 is the first position in a string, 1 is the second, 2 is the third ...
You can use the charAt() method to access a character at a specific position
in a string:
Example
String txt = "Hello";
[Link]([Link](0)); // H
[Link]([Link](4)); // o
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Comparing Strings
To compare two strings, you can use the equals() method:
Example
String txt1 = "Hello";
String txt2 = "Hello";
String txt3 = "Greetings";
String txt4 = "Great things";
[Link]([Link](txt2)); // true
[Link]([Link](txt4)); // false
Removing Whitespace
The trim() method removes whitespace from the beginning and the end of a
string:
Example
String txt = " Hello World ";
[Link]("Before: [" + txt + "]");
[Link]("After: [" + [Link]() + "]");
Result:
Before: [ Hello World ]
After: [Hello World]
Complete String Reference
For a complete reference of String methods, go to our Java String Methods
Reference.
The reference contains descriptions and examples of all string methods.
Java String Concatenation
String Concatenation
The + operator can be used between strings to combine them. This is
called concatenation:
ExampleGet your own Java Server
String firstName = "John";
String lastName = "Doe";
[Link](firstName + " " + lastName);
Note that we have added an empty text (" ") to create a space between
firstName and lastName on print.
Concatenation in Sentences
You can use string concatenation to build sentences with both text and
variables:
Example
String name = "John";
int age = 25;
[Link]("My name is " + name + " and I am " + age + "
years old.");
Result:
My name is John and I am 25 years old.
The concat() Method
You can also use the concat() method to concatenate strings:
Example
String firstName = "John ";
String lastName = "Doe";
[Link]([Link](lastName));
You can also join more than two strings by chaining concat() calls:
Example
String a = "Java ";
String b = "is ";
String c = "fun!";
String result = [Link](b).concat(c);
[Link](result);
Note: While you can use concat() to join multiple strings, most developers
prefer the + operator because it is shorter and easier to read.
Exercise?
Drag and drop the correct operator to combine firstName and lastName into one string.
String firstName = "John";
String lastName = "Doe";
[Link](firstName lastName);
Java Numbers and Strings
Adding Numbers and Strings
WARNING!
Java uses the + operator for both addition and concatenation.
Numbers are added. Strings are concatenated.
If you add two numbers, the result will be a number:
ExampleGet your own Java Server
int x = 10;
int y = 20;
int z = x + y; // z will be 30 (an integer/number)
If you add two strings, the result will be a string concatenation:
Example
String x = "10";
String y = "20";
String z = x + y; // z will be 1020 (a String)
If you add a number and a string, the result will be a string concatenation:
Example
String x = "10";
int y = 20;
String z = x + y; // z will be 1020 (a String)
Java Special Characters
Strings - Special Characters
Because strings must be written within quotes, Java will misunderstand this
string, and generate an error:
String txt = "We are the so-called "Vikings" from the north.";
The solution to avoid this problem, is to use the backslash escape
character.
The backslash (\) escape character turns special characters into string
characters:
Escape character Result Description
\' ' Single quote
\" " Double quote
\\ \ Backslash
The sequence \" inserts a double quote in a string:
ExampleGet your own Java Server
String txt = "We are the so-called \"Vikings\" from the north.";
The sequence \' inserts a single quote in a string:
Example
String txt = "It\'s alright.";
The sequence \\ inserts a single backslash in a string:
Example
String txt = "The character \\ is called backslash.";
Other common escape sequences that are valid in Java are:
Code Result
\n New Line
\t Tab
\b Backspace
\r Carriage Return
\f Form Feed
Note: Most of these escape codes are rarely used in modern programming.
The most common ones are \n (new line), \" (double quote),
and \\ (backslash).